Where was my refund?

I cancelled service about July 7 (no later than July 9, for sure), and I impatiently contacted TWC through online chat on August 15th, eventually triggering escalation to Tier 3 Advanced Support where "Jason" promised that he would expedite the refund and I would get it in 5 business days.

Of course, 5 business days came and went. When I discovered that TWC has an office here in Desert Hot Springs I went in to press my case again. The person at the counter did nothing — and tried to do absolutely nothing — except repeat ad nauseum that "refunds take 8 to 12 weeks." So I went home again to stew some more.

Eventually, on September 2 the refund check arrived in the mail. That would be 8 weeks after service was cancelled and 12 business days after being promised that I would get the check in 5 business days.

Refund check received 8 weeks after cancelling service

Several conclusions are possible and plausible:

Tier 3 Advanced Support actually did nothing and just said 5 days to get rid of me

It takes TWC two weeks just to cut a simple check (Aug 15 to Aug 27, the date of the check)

It takes TWC 3 days to put a check in the mail.

But here are the kickers:

Two days after cancelling, I received a phone survey from TWC to assess my satisfaction with the service.

Last week I got a letter, ostensibly from the Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, thanking me "for being a Time Warner Cable customer" and inquiring if I know "how much more [I] could be getting — for a lot less." The offers included packages for "Internet and Home Phone," "Better Internet," and "Better Phone."

Today's mail included a slick flyer to encourage me to "come back."

It just astonishes me how unsavvy these people are. The time to ply me with offers is before I cancel, not after. Imagine the good will and customer loyalty that would accrue to a cable company if they sent you a letter saying "You've been a customer for X years, and to thank you for your loyalty we're taking Y% off your bill" or "Surprise! This month's service is on us — we value you as a customer."

Their whole marketing strategy is built on luring people with attractive offers and then over time jacking up the rates. This virtually guarantees that people will start looking for alternatives. Imagine if they reversed the strategy: sign you on at full rate then reduce it to reward loyalty. Instead of forcing you to take a two year contract to get certain rate, reward positive behavior, "If you stay with us for two years we'll lower your rate by X%." Imagine if instead of having to call them every couple of months to find out if they have any new packages at a lower rate, they contacted you!